Robert Crumb is known as a cartoonist with a distinct style that is readily recognizable. He is often referred to as the Father of the Underground Comix Movement. Robert Crumb was born on August 30, 1943, in Philadelphia. Since the family moved around a lot, by the time Robert was 15, he had lived in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Iowa, California, and Delaware, among many others. Robert Crumb was raised Catholic and was thoroughly influenced by the EC horror comics and Walt Disney publications. He started working at a Greeting Card Company instead of going to college to acquire an education. Here are some of the best-known comic characters of Robert Crumb:
Fritz the Cat:
One of the most iconic characters to originate from Robert Crumb, Fritz the Cat, also was Crumb’s first successful comic character. Fritz the Cat was created in 1959 and was inspired by the two cats in Crumb’s household. The comic character was a self-centered cat who was rather popular with the girls. The popular comic was then adapted into a movie in 1972 by Ralph Bakshi. Due to the huge success of the first movie, a second one followed; however, Robert Crumb didn’t like the portrayals. Furious, Robert Crumb killed off his popular comic character that same year the movie was released.
Mr. Natural:
Mr. Natural was created during a time when Robert Crumb was using a lot of LSD and drugs. Though the use of drugs left his perceptions dizzy, he was successful in inventing many comic characters during this time – the most popular among them being Mr. Natural. Mr. Natural was created in 1967 and became quite popular, soon appearing in different merchandise items. Mr. Natural was given a character of both a con man and a person with good wisdom on the state of affairs of the world. He had a reputation for being a favorite comic guru.
Mr. Snoid:
Mr. Snoid is one of the other popular comic characters Robert Crumb created apart from Mr. Natural during the period of intense drug use. Mr. Snoid is a funny character and is represented as a short man with a high sex drive. This comic character was so popular that he eventually had his own solo comic book. Mr. Snoid is often portrayed as a character who can appear anywhere and climb the legs of other people.
Devil Girl:
One of the most famous and strongest characters created by Robert Crumb, Devil Girl was an outlet for the creator to unleash his erotic fantasies. Robert Crumb was never afraid to break taboos and write about strange sexual behavior like Incest and Necrophilia. Devil Girl is also depicted as having a sexual affair with Mr. Natural. Devil Girl was first introduced in the 1980s as Cheryl Brock in the comics of Mr. Natural and Flakey Foont.
Whiteman:
Whiteman is a clever character introduced by Robert Crumb to represent the state of affairs of corporate America. The character Whiteman represented everything wrong with businessmen in America. The character was always on the verge of constipation and had an outside persona of being tough and hard working. Robert Crumb gave a break to his character Whiteman in a story where he was kidnapped by this mysterious forest creature called Yeti.